WRW Goes Under The Knife

Today on What’cha Readin’ Wednesday we look at, 

“Under the Knife : A History of Surgery in 28 Remarkable Operations” by Arnold van der Laar.

I slightly misunderstood the jacket blurb for this book:

From the story of the desperate man from seventeenth-century Amsterdam who grimly cut a stone out of his own bladder to Bob Marley's deadly toe, Under the Knife offers a wealth of fascinating and unforgettable insights into medicine and history via the operating room.

What happens during an operation? How does the human body respond to being attacked by a knife, a bacterium, a cancer cell or a bullet? And, as medical advances continuously push the boundaries of what medicine can cure, what are the limits of surgery? 

With stories spanning the dark centuries of bloodletting and amputations without anaesthetic through today's sterile, high-tech operating rooms, Under the Knife is both a rich cultural history, and a modern anatomy class for us all.

I know, you’re wondering how I could have gotten confused by that, aren’t you? But I had somehow put the subtitle and that description together and come up with, “Herein you will find 28 stories of amazing historical operations that altered the course of surgery.” 

(And, really, when the first chapter opens with the story of Jan de Doot, a Dutch blacksmith who is said to have cut a stone the size of a hen’s egg out of his own bladder, I’m not sure I can completely fault myself, either.)

But I realized as quickly as the second chapter (Asphyxia, which explains why President Kennedy needed a tracheotomy after being shot in the head) that I’d gotten the wrong end of the stick. In actuality, this interesting book is more an explanation of 28 fairly common ailments or injuries and how the surgical treatments for each condition have evolved over time. Indeed, I learned more about circulatory challenges and the intricacies of blood pressure from the chapter on shock than I have from any pamphlet my doctor has ever given me. The historical anecdotes are there to illustrate the impact of each condition, not as some sort of surgical Believe It Or Not!. 

The book is informative, well-written, well-translated, and fascinating. Each chapter stands alone and is generally somewhere between 10-15 pages, making this the perfect book for when you can only squeeze in your reading a little at a time. 

If you’re intrigued by the workings of the human body, I urge you to give it a try!

What'cha Readin' Wednesday?

Thelma has taken to sending me highlighted passages out of the books she’s reading and recently, she sent me one that ranks very high in my list of the “Best Lines Read - 2018”

“Not one to seek complications, I kept the attraction on the back burner of a stovetop in another dimension. I wasn’t in love with him; I only needed to avoid accidentally falling onto his penis.” 

- From “Tenemental: Adventures of A Reluctant Landlady” by Vikki Warner, which is the story of a woman who bought a 3-family house and entered a whole new world. (I have since read the entire book - and enjoyed it very much.)

Such a glorious quotation required an equally wonderful offering in return, so I sent her the first mini-story in “Heating & Cooling : 52 micro-memoirs” by Beth Ann Fennelly. (A wonderful book - please read it!)

“In every book my husband’s written, a character named Colin suffers a horrible death. This is because my boyfriend before I met my husband was named Colin. In addition to being named Colin, he was Scottish, and an architect. So you understand my husband’s feelings of inadequacy. My husband cannot build a tall building of many stories. He can only build a story, then push Colin out of it.”

(And really, who can blame the husband?) 

I give both books 2 thumbs up.

(With an additional Thelma-thumb on Tenemental, too!)

The Bookish Crab

I haven’t done a What’cha Readin’? Wednesday in a while and when I saw this, I thought, “Perfect segue!”. There’s a little hiccup, however. My latest book binge has been taking place in audio format. Summers get awfully busy, you see, and I don’t really have the kind of time I’d like to cozy up with a book. However… I still have a stupid long commute to work each day, so I choose the beguile away the miles with an audiobook.

I won’t lie, however. I don’t think the format always does justice to books. (Particularly as there seem to be a whole lotta people out there getting paid to do a lousy job narrating.) I will often leave the library with 3 audiobooks and a smile, only to return all three a week later, with a grimace of distaste and a big ol’ note in my reading file to “AVOID ANYTHING READ BY…”

It’s easier if I know I already like the writer, however, and this past winter, selkie mentioned to me that she was re-reading Louise Penny’s “Bury Your Dead”, and that simple remark started me on my way to this latest binge.

I had discovered Ms. Penny at the same time as her first book in the Armand Gamache series was published, and had enjoyed her work after that, altho’ I hadn’t read the books faithfully, or in order. I’d gone off of the world of Gamache after “The Beautiful Mystery”, however - not because the writing or storytelling got bad but because I was so upset by the evolution of one of the characters. I found that development really painful to read and I just couldn’t make myself continue on to witness any more of that train wreck.

But “Bury Your Dead” took place before TBM, and it was one I hadn’t read, and selkie was raving about it… so I decided it would be a safe bet. I picked it up and was transported to the Winter Carnival… and hooked on Inspector Gamache all over again. Enough, in fact, that I decided to do a little investigating. As it turns out, I’d boycotted the world of Three Pines for long enough that it was possible to discover from blurbs that the situation that had pained me so much had been resolved a couple of books after the point where I’d given up. So when I saw “A Great Reckoning” on the audiobook shelves, I snapped it up. I figured I’d leapfrog past that painful era and just go on from there.

Except I couldn’t. Once I’d gotten through Reckoning, now I HAD to know what had happened in the interim! So I went back to “How The Light Gets In”… on to “The Long Way Home”, and just yesterday, I finished “The Nature of the Beast”. *Bam, bam, bam!*

I can’t believe I lucked out enough to find them all available at the library, in the order I needed them, one right after the other. But thank goodness I did! These stories are the kind where you get to your destination, only to find that you’re so absorbed in the narrative that you simply cannot get out of your car. I’ve dawdled in more parking lots over the last two months than I’d care to admit. 

But it’s still better than the twitching I would have been doing if I’d had to delay in between books!

The books are mysteries - Monsieur Gamache is with the Sûreté after all - but there’s also something there for everyone. History, psychology, art, cuisine, love, humor… there’s a ton of humor - which I actually think I appreciate more in the audio format than when I read it.

These books are great reads - and great listens.

I’m now recommending them to everyone.

How about you? What’s your latest book binge been?

Olivia Returns My Serve

I tossed this one out to olivia… and she sent it back.

You have won a special magical vacation: 

For one year, you will live the life of any character in fiction that you choose.

Who do you pick?

If it’s any consolation, I didn’t find this question any easier than you did. :-)

Like you, I ran through all my favorite characters in my search for an answer, which meant that I ended up making my decision based largely on the troubles I don’t want to have. 

Sookie Stackhouse can hear other people’s thoughts - I already have a low opinion of people, I don’t think that is something I need to be voluntarily reinforcing. Jaz Parks, despite the fact that I admire her enough to take her name (in bastardized form) is not mentally stable and that’s not a burden I would willingly shoulder, not even to land Vayl. Mercy Thompson has been drugged and raped - no thank you. Nell Nichols periodically ends up with trees growing inside her. So, not her, either.

It might be fun to be a guy for a year, but I don’t want to be anybody testosterone-poisoned or gun-toting, or even terribly noir. Hercule Poirot would be fascinating, but even for me, he’s a little bit too much not of the body… I’d miss sex.

I might go with living Anne Elliot’s life, if it could be a year after she becomes Mrs. Wentworth… but that brings me back to my age-old dilemma about doing without the convenience of modern plumbing. (*crinkles nose*) For a whole year? No, thanks. (This is also the primary drawback to being Claire Fraser. That and constantly being on the lam, even if I would have Jamie as a consolation prize.) So, saying no to those, as well

Diana Bishop? Tempting… But even tho’ I love her as a character, her actual life simply doesn’t call to me as something I’d want to experience. Which is interesting, because she’s gorgeous, intelligent, a scholar, and gets to time travel with a sexy vampire. You’d think I’d be on that in a New York minute! But for some reason, no…

Same with Madelaine Maxwell. This series is a fun, madcap romp but for whatever reason, her life is one I much prefer to enjoy vicariously.

No, I think if I ever got to do this, I’d choose to be Jane Yellowrock. I’ve described here some of the many reasons I like Jane. She's a funny mix of contradictions, which is hardly too much of a stretch for me to imagine. A year in her rockin' boots, of course, is an odd choice for a woman who’s not particularly physical or brave. Yet that’s part of the reason I'm choosing her. Jane lives life in a way that I think I could learn from. (You know, “vampire killing” as the equivalent of one of those survival adventure schools.) 

I’m sure it wouldn’t be easy to live as Jane but then again, who among us finds it easy to be who we are anyhow? A year spent living as her might teach me the courage to face down my fears. Certainly, it would be a year of high adventure, dressing like a bad-ass, and doing things I’d would never otherwise get to do. (Particularly since I live in the real world, not a magical one with vampires, witches, and shapeshifters going about their business cheek by jowl with the rest of us.)

PLUS, I’d be living in New Orleans, within shouting distance of Cafe du Monde, surrounded by easy-on-the-eye males (even if I don’t sleep with any but one of them) and boy, howdy, would I be in shape by the end of that year! 

Yep. I think I'd like a year of "smart, sexy, and ruthless"...
I’m goin’ with Jane.  

Reading with Bleue

Bleue wants to know if:

“… there is a book you have read in the last four years that you think everyone should read?”

This is kind of a stinker of a question, ma’am!

There are a lot of books that I enjoy and like to think everyone will read… but do I think they should read them? Well, no. Not every book is for every person. 

I was reminded of this recently with one of our book club selections. It was touted as having universal themes to be appreciated by all women, everywhere. Which was almost true. 

The story detailed the struggle of a middle-aged wife to cope with the death of her husband of nearly 40 years. It was also a story of how that loss exacerbated the woman’s inability to let her grown daughter live her own life. 

Love! Marriage! Mothers and daughters!

Everyone else in the group loved the book, identifying from all three standpoints, be it wife, mother, or daughter. Except - for this childless 58-year old lifelong singleton who has herself been motherless since she was a pre-teen. 

I felt like an idiot but I had to tell them all that this book simply does not compute. 

I can imagine it… but I cannot feel it… making it a fairly pointless book for me to read.

So, there’s my long exemplar as to why I don’t believe that there’s one book that can suit everyone. Let me return to the actual question now, shall I…?

There have been, however, a couple of books that I like to think of my friends reading. Partially for no better reason than that we can share the delight I’ve felt in these works, and partially so we can have fun sitting down together and picking them apart. I'll share those, instead.

I have been slowly savouring “If on a winter’s night a traveler” by Italo Calvino. SP recommended it, BookMan provided it, and I have been loving it. I’m only doing a couple of chapters at a time, so that I don’t fall into my habit of speed-reading, because that would make me miss something and I don't want to miss a word. This is one amazing, terrific book. (Big smooch to He Who Suggested It.) I’ve never read anything quite like it before. It's full of the kind of writing that stops me in my tracks and makes me want to meet the man, so I can watch him think and go along for the ride!  ;-D

“The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafón is another book I’ve really gotten into lately. It’s another story about books but with a completely different feel. I’m sort of amazed that I’ve enjoyed it so much, as I’m not generally wild about Spanish Civil War things, but anything that starts out with a visit to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books has my heart.

Library / Preferences

Thelma and I indulged in a rousing book discussion the other day. She and I tend toward different genres of books, but we pretty much agree as to what we like in our reading.

We like series, so you can make friends with the characters and follow their adventures.

We like books where the protagonist (and hopefully at least one other) is likeable.

Naturally, we are both picky about spelling and grammar. 

Neither of us like books that make the reader guess the ending. 

"You’re writing the danged book, you tell me how it ends!"

And finally, we both like our books to be reasonably uplifting. We don't necessarily require a happy ending, per se, but we don't want grim, dystopian, and unpleasant, either. We want our books to leave us feeling better than they found us.

Basically, we want this from our reading:

How about you guys?

What'cha Readin' Wednesday?

Tomorrow is my book club meeting and I’m supposed to have finished “a gripping re-telling of a classic maritime adventure” … So I’ve undoubtedly been face down in that very book for the last few days, right?

Nope. Nor am I at all certain that I’ll even look at it again before the meeting - because I've gotten way too absorbed in Sherman Alexie’s “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” to care about some ol’ boat thing.

My heavens, this book is good. I’ve extolled the virtues of Mr. Alexie’s writing before but since he continues to write books that wow me, I think it only fair that I continue to fangrrl you all into reading his work. :-D

As with most of his prose, this book will make you both laugh and wince. It’s a memoir of Alexie’s life as the bipolar son of a bipolar mother and the complicated love/hate dance that ensued. It’s grim at times - he never sugarcoats the reality of existence, be it the poverty of life on the reservation or the gut-wrenching challenges of living with mental illness - but it also glows with moments of affection and humor.

The structure is a mix of prose and poetry, full of one-liners that will make you grin and laments that put into words to all the anger and sorrow you never knew how to express. This excerpt from chapter 12 - Terminal Velocity, practically had me leaping from my chair, yelling, “YES!” - even with all the f-bombs…

(…) Fuck you, 

Small Cell Cancer, I want to shoot you in the heart

And mount you on the hood of my truck.

I want to trophy you like you trophied my mother.

Fuck you, Cancer, fuck you, Cemetery Dancer 

The book is beautiful and moving, raw and honest. To the point, in fact, that Alexie had to cut short the book tour for it because it triggered his struggle with depression. “I have been rebreaking my heart night after night.” Nonetheless, this is not a book that leaves me feeling brutalized for having read it. It may not always be a light read but it's not dismal. Instead, I'm finding it very rewarding - absorbing and compelling, and a tribute to the strength and complexity of this thing we call love, even when it becomes completely entwined with hatred and rips our hearts out every time we trip over the loose, untidy ends.

“I don’t believe in ghosts. But I see them all the time.”

Banned Books Week 2017

Celebrate your freedom-

Get out there and READ!

(You know Spock would)

J is for Jane Yellowrock

This is particularly perfect timing, as it lets me do the letter "J " and a What’cha Readin’ Wednesday, all in one fell swoop! I love serendipity!

It’s no secret that I can be found with my nose buried in a paranormal at any time but I lean even more heavily on them during times when my life is busy making me wish I was occupying someone else's, instead. (Oh, Hi, 2017!) Escapist adventure, take me away!

This winter, Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock has been my vehicle of choice - I’ve been totally face-down, binge (re)reading the series lately.

I like my fantasy-type reading to be largely realistic. The kind where you have to accept one or two implausible situations, like time-travel, or that vampires are real, but then the rest of the story falls in line with reality. That lets me exercise my imagination but keeps it all relatable, as well.

And relate to Jane Yellowrock, I certainly do. She’s tall, (ok, she’s skinny too, but this is fantasy!) kind of a loner, possessed of a big heart which is frequently obscured by the big foot in her mouth. She lives by a solid moral code - yet she kills (rogue vampires) for a living. *hmmmm, what else...?* She can't be bothered with makeup (except for red lipstick on special occasions)... 

Oh, and she hates to have people cussing when she’s within earshot. :-D

She’s also completely kick-ass. (Umm, we’ve moved on from the parts I relate to, btw. This paragraph's just more stuff I like about her, with no claims of commonality.) She meets smokin' men all over the place and thoroughly enjoys the eye candy, but reserves any serious interest for her beaux. (She's had two in the series so far, both highly complex and completely drool-worthy.) There’s plenty of hot monkey sex but it is kept nicely shielded behind the bedroom door. We know it’s there, but we don’t have to have it shoved into our 'still recovering from heart-break' face, either. 

She loves her motorcycle. (OK, this should go in between the other two paragraphs, because I can relate to the loving bikes... but not to owning any.) And her Lucchese boots. (Good for both bike riding and kicking rogue vampire behind.)

Jane's world centers around New Orleans, which is one of my favorite cities, even if it is stinkin’ hot. (But I can forgive much for some good cafe au lait and beignets.) Her boss is a vampire (non-rogue,) her partners are a former Army Ranger and his über-geek hacker of a kid brother, her best friend is a witch, and did I mention that Jane herself routinely shapeshifts into a mountain lion?

That’s no more than one or two implausible situations, is it? ;-D

Seriously, I love this series.

If you’ve never read Jane, give her a try!

What'cha Readin' Wednesday?

Persuasion.

   Again.

       Because it’s just that good.

Persuasion is my favorite of Austen’s books… has been ever since I first read it years ago. (And you don’t even want to know how many times I’ve sighed along with Amanda Root as Ciarán Hinds gives her the cold shoulder. Pure magic, that movie…)

I suppose you could accuse me of liking it just because true love wins out, even after years of taking a beating… and I doubt I could mount a credible defense if you did. This story does appeal to the sappy inner optimist in me, for sure. 

But I also simply like Anne Elliott a great deal. She’s not spunky in the same way as Emma Woodhouse or Elizabeth Bennet - there’s not a lot of flippancy or sass - yet she surely has more than enough courage and determination for all of them put together. (OK, Elinor Dashwood is right up there, too, but I’m too distracted by my desire to smack Marianne to enjoy Sense and Sensibility as much as I do Persuasion.) There is just something about the way that Anne deals with life that appeals to me. She learns from her mistakes, has the patience of Job, and, while accommodating where she must, is also determined not to undervalue herself by acting against her own beliefs any further.

It’s a story of someone coming into her own - I think that’s the appeal for me.

Of course, this book is also rich in the gentle humor that underlies all of Austen’s works but here the mood feels mellower, with greater depth. Not to mention that it’s simply awash with great lines. (This woman has the art of penetrating insight down to a science, I tell you.)

Currently, I’m enjoying this gem:

But there are plenty of the non-mopey variety, too, I promise! ;-p

Maybe you have a favorite quote of your own?

In Which I Fail at Pointy-Headedness

I’ve been sitting on this image, waiting for the ideal time to present it to you all.

rawr!, huh?

That moment never seemed to arrive, however.

Then Bookman emailed me. He's looking for his next "pleasure read" and wanted to ask:

"Have you read Norwich’s 3-volume history of Byzantium? I just saw the one-volume abridgement, and I was wondering if I should snag it or save up for the full set. Any opinion?"

After much blinking of the eyes and composing of the face, I carefully replied, explaining that Norwich’s opus came along after the time when I indulged my enthusiasm for Byzantine history, so, no… I had not read it.

Unable to stop myself, however, I then went on to wonder if a 3-volume history of an empire that endured for over a thousand years might not contain more details than can be fully taken in during the course of one reading - and suggested that one might reasonably ask oneself, “How much of this do I really need to know?”

He conceded, “Point taken, I suppose. It’s just that he’s such a good writer!”

And I thought of this image... 

        but now I'm seeing it in a whole 'nother light!

A Fine Plan For February

Any February… not just this one!  ;-)

(Or weekend... Or anytime, really.)   

What'cha Readin' Wednesday?

Today’s Whatcha’ Readin’ Wednesday takes a look at “Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World” by Rita Golden Gelman.

I started this book with great enthusiasm. I had already read “Female Nomad and Friends”, which was a collection of food-centered travel vignettes (written by other women, but assembled by Ms. Gelman) and quite enjoyed it. I knew the first book didn’t have the food theme but I was anticipating a very pleasurable read when I opened to the first page.

Aaaannnnd…

                      *m’eh*

It’s certainly not an unpleasant read. I didn’t have to struggle to make myself finish it, by any means…, but I also wasn’t as wowed as I’d expected to be.

Let’s back up a little.

The (true) story is that Rita Golden Gelman’s marriage was falling apart. During their trial separation, she decided to travel to Mexico for two months - but she didn’t simply hit the tourist spots. She traveled deep into the country and lived in a small village with a family. (Kind of in their shed, but still…)

This is the beginning of what will become a most marvelous adventure of a life. 

Her marriage ends, she sells home and goods, and off she goes, to explore the world! 

Guatemala, Nicaragua, Israel, the Galapagos Islands, Borneo, Canada, Bali, New Zealand, Thailand... Gelman documents many, many extraordinary experiences.

In a lot of ways, it really is inspiring.

Wouldn’t you think I’d love it?

There were just too many little things that didn’t work for me, however.

For one thing, it turns out that Ms. Gelman was an established children’s book writer, able to work from anywhere… and still get paid. I’m not making light of the fact that she had the gumption and willingness to live an unfettered, nomadic life — but she didn't have the money worries that most of us would have to, and that took away some of the magic for me. 

(Which is probably an unfair quibble but the pitch was for a "free spirit throwing it all over and figuring it out as she goes" sort of adventure story. To find out that the free spirit had a steady (and fairly reasonable) income throughout her travels was, frankly, a letdown.)

Secondly, I thought that a number of the chapters needed more time in editing. The stories just sort of… ended. Not even “petered out”, just ended. They felt like, “I did this, then I did this, then this happened, then that, then I left.”  Granted, that’s how life is, but that’s not how a story should be. (At least, not the ones I like to read.) Gelman had a HUGE scope of adventures to work with. If one approach for each journey didn't pan out nicely, surely there was another one that would have... But she chose instead to leave me with many moments of “yeah, and…?” as I finished a chapter. *bah*

Finally, I couldn’t love the book because I simply didn’t warm to any of the characters. Yes, it’s a travel/adventure chronicle but nobody was presented as anyone I’d enjoy traveling with... Gelman had such success at getting to know the locals and forming tight bonds with them that you have to believe she must be a warm, likable person. 

I would have liked to have been shown that woman…

Over all, this book was a disappointment for me, probably because I had such high expectations when I started. But I just couldn't get past the fact that although I could see the adventures, I was never really drawn into them - and I thought that was a shame.

Anyone have a different experience of this?

Y is for...

(this is almost
a "Y", isn't it?)

Yokozuna

SUMO!!!

I haven’t written about sumo in a long time!

But now I’m going to… because Y, dammit.  :-)

When I first started watching sumo, I was intrigued but also baffled. As with any new sport, you’re lost without somebody to explain what the heck is going on, but I was watching Japanese TV programs, so the commentary in Japanese wasn’t helping me (I never got past “kore wa”...,) and none of the people I lived with were curious enough to have learned the details. I tried bookstores, libraries… and kept coming up empty handed. Oddly enough, it wasn’t until I moved back to New England that I was able to find some information. My favorite source is Mina Hall’s The Big Book of Sumo, which I have relied on heavily for this little story about yokozuna… 

Yokozuna is the highest rank in the world of sumo. 

(i.e. the big guys wearing the huge white belts with giant rick-rack hanging off 'em.) 

Sumo ranking is a fluid pyramidal hierarchy, with the wrestlers moving up and down through the ranks, according to their wins and losses. As the ranks increase, the number of wrestlers in them decreases, until you finally get to yokozuna. 

There are generally only 1-3 yokozuna at a time and, interestingly, sometimes there aren’t any… because you achieve the rank of yokozuna based not only on the concrete factors of power and skill, but also by demonstrating that you possess dignity and grace. Since this is a subjective qualification, there have been times when the Yokozuna Deliberation Council has simply found no one to recommend to the Sumo Association for promotion. (As of 2014, there had only been a total of 71 yokozuna since formal record keeping began in 1789.) 

It’s a very difficult rank to attain (only about 1 in 900 wrestlers makes it to yokozuna) but once you’re there, you get to stay. Yokozuna cannot be demoted, but they are expected to retire when they can no longer compete at the level of performance expected of the top dog.

After a yokozuna’s promotion is approved, there is a formal acceptance ceremony, which will be the first time a yokozuna wears a tsuna, (the big funky white belt.) Those belts, which weigh anything from 30 up to 44 pounds and contain all kinds of padding and copper wiring, are made for the new initiate by the other wrestlers in his stable. It is expected to be sparkling white at all times, so the wrestlers wear towels and white gloves while weaving it, so as not to get it dirty. (They're purely ceremonial, so they aren't worn to wrestle in...)

After the yokozuna is formally installed, he will then perform his first dohyo-iri, which is the ring-entering ceremony in which the yokozuna calls on the gods and chases away demons by clapping his hands and stomping his feet.
This same ceremony opens every sumo tournament.

Then everybody puts away the big belts and fancy skirts and gets down to wrasslin’!! ;-)

G is for...

Greywalker

"Between the worlds of the living and the dead

There lies a realm of spectres and magic

Where every nightmare 

The human mind can conceive is given flesh

The Grey.

One woman, recovering from a near-fatal accident has

gained access to this dark domain

To protect us from what dwells within,

She may have to keep on dying

Her name is Harper Blaine

She is a Greywalker"

(promotional video for greywalker.com)

“You must be careful, Harper. You're stubborn, hardheaded, scientific practicalist, and all of this seems like a nightmare to you that you hope will simply evaporate when you wake up. But you don't wake up from this.”

Harper Blaine is a private investigator who is attacked, shot, and actually dies for two minutes before being revived… but the world she comes back to is a very different world from the one she left. She is now able to see and move through The Grey, a realm of ghosts, vampires, witches, and magic which bridges the lands of the living and the dead.

It’s sort of funny that I’m so hooked by this series… I will usually inform you that I don’t like my books noir — yet “dark” is the overwhelming impression left from reading these stories…

     Harper lives in Seattle, overcast and rainy, altho' much of the action takes place in the old underground city, far beyond the reaches of any weather (or light.)

     Ms. Richardson's descriptions of The Grey are so vivid, they leave you feeling off-kilter, mildly nauseated, and as though you are smudged with soot and cobwebs every time you slide into it with poor Harper.

     Bucking a popular trend, the vampires and ghosts in this world are not charming or sexy. These are throwbacks to the literary originals - vicious, self-serving creatures of the night who you really don’t want to run into in a dark alley.

     Not to mention the fact that much of the tension in the story stems from the fact that Harper has been irrevocably thrust into a life she hates, with no way to get back to the one that was stolen from her. 

And yet…

It's not all grim -- there is hope in this world, as well. 

     Hope, humor, honor, good friends, and a pet ferret.

It may be dark in The Grey, but the characters shine brightly.

If you don’t mind urban fantasy (or a few cobwebs in your hair,) you should give this one a try.

More Books!

Since Wednesdays are often book-themed, let's tackle the rest of Misty’s questions. 

Do you judge a book by its cover? 

If you start reading a book and aren't particularly thrilled with the style of writing do you keep reading, just to finish it, or put it away? 

Have you ever wanted to burn a book? 

Do you have a book (or two, or ten) that have stuck with you in a good or bad way? 

Do you listen to music while reading? 

I don’t think I would say that I judge a book by it’s cover, but I am admittedly susceptible to the lure of certain “looks” of cover art. (Like how “sassy young witch” stories always have heroines that are drawn to look kind of like Judy Jetson, with a title emblazoned in some funky font, similar to Twilight… Which actually isn’t one of the looks I’m drawn to, but I think it’s one of the easier examples to use.) So, I might be more prone to pick up a book to consider it if the cover catches my eye... but the blurb and a quick peek at the writing are what actually determine my selection.

(Maybe it’s more accurate to say I “first impression” a book by its cover?)  ;-p

As to finishing a book I'm not thrilled with - no. I do not have any sort of completion complex when it comes to books. The only ones I will continue to read if I’m not enjoying them are the ones I’m stuck with for my book club. (And we've had some doozies, so don't worry, I've done my share of struggling.)

But in general, I’m of the opinion that life is too short to read bad books.  :-D

I’m just as opposed to book burning as I am to book banning...  

But I have wanted to spit on several.

Far From the Madding Crowd, A Confederacy of Dunces, and The Orphan Master’s Son are all near the top of that particular list. 

There have been a number of books that have stuck with me over the years, in various odd ways. For example, my vocabulary to this day is enriched by esoteric exclamations straight from the pages of Little Men (which I personally enjoyed even more than Little Women;) I know Hercule Poirot better than I do some of my friends; Emerson inspires me (Seriously - “God will not have his work made manifest by cowards” - whose spirit does not thrill to those words?); James Herriott is my anti-anxiety drug of choice; I want to come back as Mary Russell in my next life; and Jamie from Outlander has completely spoiled me for any real life man. 

Yeah, they stick with me.  ;-D

(Oh, and “rarely” to music while reading. I prefer to focus on one or the other at a time.)

Thank you for some fun questions, Misty!

About My Reading - Pt. 1

Misty wanted to know about my reading habits.

She packed a whole lotta questions into her one response, in fact, so I'm going to break them up into two or three posts. (Yes, multiple posts about books… deal with it!)

Tell me about your reading....

When looking for a new book, what do you look for? 

Do you like self-improvement books? Fiction? Non-fiction? 

Do you like older (100+ years old) books or newer books? Or maybe all of the above? 

Probably the first thing I check out in a new book is whether or not I'm familiar with the author. I have no aversion to branching out and trying new people but when the author is known, it saves me a couple of steps in scrutinizing the book, because I'll already have an idea if I like the writing style or not.

Next, I check the summary. Storylines are important to me. I'm more willing to read mediocre writing that's telling a good tale than I am to wade through gorgeously constructed prose that's describing people, places, and situations that I simply cannot bring myself to care about. (Or perfectly acceptable writing that's just plain trying too hard.)

I mostly prefer fiction but I will occasionally dip into non-fiction if it relates to interesting subjects, most often stories of the mind (Oliver Sacks,) or health, or biographies of people I'm interested in. 

I loathe self-help or self-improvement books (probably something to do with hating to have people telling me what to do! ;-p) and I'm not too keen on politics or finances or sports, either. (The Big Book of Sumo excepted!)

And, no, I don't limit my reading by year of publication. Many older books are dated, it's true. But that isn't a determining factor in and of itself. When I was a kid, my mom used to like to go to country auctions and I used to live for the nights when she'd come home with a box of old books out of somebody's attic. Some of my favorite summer reading came from those! 

What'cha Readin' Wednesday Goes To The Dogs

You have to wonder…

         What kind of audience would this book appeal to?

         Would it be popular, or niche market?

         Will the author finally explain why bitches are so popular, anyhow?

         Does it break down the different types of bitches?

         Is it illustrated?

         Will we finally learn what The Ideal Bitch is like?

         Does it end with a chapter on, "How To Keep Her"?

and most importantly:

         Do you suppose BG has read this book?

         

"Wha'cha Readin'?" Wednesday - Summer Edition

In an effort to help snap my writers block, Polly lobbed this one out to me:

“tell us whether you have a trashy pile of beach (or garden) books lined up for the summer? 

Or more earnest fare?” 

I will answer, but first, you have to sit through “Jz’s Pontification on Reading”…

My personal feeling is that it’s more important to cultivate the habit of reading than it is to be snooty about what is read. Reading is every bit as much for fun as for "the improvement of the mind", and if that means that sometimes my books are light and frothy, so be it. 

I have a really hard time calling anything I enjoy reading “trash”, nor will you succeed in making me feel shallow or unintelligent for enjoying them. (Feel free to try, tho', if you wish!)

I will also openly admit that what I picture when you say, “earnest fare” is the sort of book that makes me think a root canal doesn’t sound so bad, after all. :-p

So I’m not going to label my summer reading pile.

I’ll just describe it for you, instead. :-)

The goal for this summer is to tackle a stack of books that I haven’t been in the mood to read (for years) but also won’t get rid of because they sound too interesting.
(“Someday, I’m gonna read that puppy…”) 

But I'm running out of room for all my books, so this summer is it! 

Get through it or get rid of it, once and for all...

I sort of cheated and started easy, blowing my way through Nora Roberts' “Dream” trilogy this weekend. She’s kind of hit or miss for me. Her books are often pretty formulaic but man, that woman can tell a story! So my interest depends on the story line. Some I can’t get excited about, some suck me in like an industrial-strength vacuum cleaner.
This batch was a thumbs-up. :-)

Next in the queue are:

Jeff Shaara, “To the Last Man”

Truthfully, it surprises me that I like any kind of stories about war but I’ve been a fan of the Shaara’s work ever since I read “Killer Angels”. 

I think it’s because the books are about the people inside the soldiers, not the absurdity of politics. I don’t care about individual skirmishes, I suck at the details of battles and strategy, but the effect that wars have on people can be really absorbing.

And this book tackles World War I - another conflict that, like the Civil War, has a pivotal place in history.

Writer, check! Subject, check! 

Good to go...

Jennifer Chiaverini, "The Spymistress"

This is a fictionalized story of the real-life Union spy, Elizabeth Van Lew, born to slave-holding aristocracy in the south but educated by Northern Quakers. Her convictions led her to side with the North, while her skills allowed her to amass a huge spy ring, ranging from clerks in the Confederate War Department, right up into the home of Jefferson Davis. 

She was inducted posthumously into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

Why do we never hear about these cool people at school?!?

(s'ok, I'll read about her now.)

James McKean, "Quattrocento"

I'm not so sure about this one.

On the surface, it's a perfect fit. 

An art restorer for the Met thinks he has found a portrait by Leonardo da Vinci. He becomes smitten with the woman in the portrait and, in the way of all good time-traveling fiction, ends up whisked through centuries and space to be with her.

Doesn't that sound grand???

Reviews, however, indicate that his writing kinda kills the tale.

But for the opportunity to time-travel back to Renaissance Italy, I'll take a chance!

Carlene Bauer "Frances and Bernard"

"Frances and Bernard meet in the summer of 1957. Afterward, he writes her a letter. Soon they are immersed in the kind of fast, deep friendship that can change the course of our lives."

It's kind of an "84 Charing Cross Road", except set in New York, and the characters have actually met.

"The Thorne Smith Tripledecker"

I love, love, love "The Night Life of The Gods" - and "Topper" is one of those books that stays with you for years, but I have never branched out much past those two, so when I saw this on the sale table, I jumped on it!

Ann Leary, "An Innocent, a Broad"

I picked it up because of the title but when I read the blurb, I was hooked.

This is the true story of how Ann and her husband (actor-comedian Denis Leary) went for a short holiday in London and ended up basically stranded there after she went into premature labor and delivered a two-pound baby that could not be brought home for five months.

It's the story of navigating worry, motherhood, and a very different culture.

"At once an intimate family memoir, a lively travelogue, and a touching love story, An Innocent, a Broad is utterly engaging and unforgettable."

**********************************************************

So there's the first of my summer reading piles.

How about you guys? Anything good in yours?

You might as well tell me… I'm making all this room, you know…  ;-D

Wha'cha Readin' Wednesday - The Doomsday Edition

I have to tell you…

This one, I'm not here to recommend.

Rather, this post is a cry from the heart, a plea for you all to help me find the strength to finish this wretched book.

I have this book club obligation, you see.

So even tho' I'm loathing this thing so far, I must finish it.

Come hell, high water, or off-putting plots...

Now, in fairness, I have read reviews that said, "I hated the first half of this book - but the second half will make up for it!" And no, I'm not half way through it yet.

So maybe there's hope... but I'm skeptical.

To give Mr. Johnson his due, it's an extremely well-written book. Tightly constructed and nicely shaped. I cannot fault him on that account. 

He definitely earned the Pulitzer Prize this won him, as far as writing goes.

But stellar word-craft isn't enough to drag me through 450 pages of a story I'm not enjoying.

Because I simply don't like books where not a single soul is likable.
Books are so much a part of my life that the characters become my friends -- and who wants friends they cannot stand??

Plus, it's a grim story, full of unhappiness and deceit. No one likes anyone, no one trusts anyone, no one enjoys their life. I see no hope for a happy ending, or even a redemptive one. Even worse, it's depressing as all get-out to consider that this may actually be an accurate portrayal of a very unhappy portion of our planet. 

Really, pretty much everything about the book makes me flinch.

So, I've been stalling and stalling on this beast, picking it up and putting it down. 

But I can stall no longer. The due date looms nigh...

In a last-ditch effort to push through, I've started using the reward system on myself.

"Read 100 pages of this and THEN you can take an hour and…" (bake cookies, work on your jigsaw puzzle, read something you actually enjoy…)

Thus far, this strategy has taken me completely through Jacqueline Carey's "Poison Fruit " (Agent of Hel #3) which was a truly fun, if slightly frothy read -- but, you know, after going from a dank North Korean fishing boat to danker prison camp, a little froth seems in order -- and a good chunk of the way into "Anatomies - A Cultural History of the Human Body" (which I am TOTALLY loving! There may be a WRW on that in the future…)

 

Sadly, however, I'm still only 289 pages into the libellus horribilis. (Jz-latin, but it feels apt!)

Pray for me?